


Invoking Old Traditions

by whitehorsetiger



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alpha Lance (Voltron), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Fluff, M/M, Omega Keith (Voltron), Royalty, Running, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:34:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27067954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whitehorsetiger/pseuds/whitehorsetiger
Summary: “You owe me,” she declared, placing the book down and flinging it open, “There is an old, noble-omega tradition called ‘The Run.’ It hasn’t been practiced in a long time, but I get the feeling they’d be more than willing to bring it back.”Keith blinked at her. “What?”“The Run,” Allura repeated, “Basically, you give the omega a drug to induce a sort of preheat affect and then they start running. If an alpha catches them, they go into full heat and become mates.Prince Keith is being forced to choose a mate of noble birth, unfortunately he is in love with the stable hand Lance. However there may be a way for them to become mates and have their union accepted.There is also smut at the end.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 293





	Invoking Old Traditions

Keith kicked Red into gear, causing her to snort and toss her head but push faster. She kicked up her legs, jumping easily over a fallen log. It had rained recently, mud splattering up her legs and onto Keith’s boots. He didn’t really care though; he had more important matters to attend to.

Ahead of him another horse was pounding through the forest, her rider letting out a whoop of laughter. Keith couldn’t help the slight smile quirk up the corner of his mouth as he laid lower over Red’s neck, urging her to go faster still.

“Come on, girl, we can’t let them win,” Keith said.

Red huffed, but seemed to understand as she pushed herself, hooves tearing through the muddy ground. They were getting incredibly close to the river—to their goal. Keith just had to win. Red was incredibly fast, likely the fastest horse in the stable. Unfortunately, the horse she was racing against had three huge advantages: she knew the forest, her rider was much more experienced, and she was big.

The horse swerved, blocking Keith and Red from overtaking them. Red whinnied in indignation, Keith shouting angrily.

“You’ve got to be faster!” the other rider laughed.

Unfortunately, Red had lost some momentum, allowing the other horse to pull ahead again. The two of them broke out of the forest, hammering down the side of the hill. They charged across the river, before pulling their horses to a stop.

“I won!” the other rider, Lance, whooped.

“No you didn’t!” Keith protested, “I got to the other side first!”

“You did not!” Lance said, dismounting his horse, Blue.

Keith dismounted as well, allowing Red to take a break. Both horses were huffing slightly, trying to catch their breath.

“I did!” Keith replied, “Red’s hoof was on the bank first.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Lance said, crossing his arms, “Blue was totally out of the water first.”

Keith opened his mouth, but frowned and let out an irritated huff of breath. How Lance dragged him into these stupid competitions was beyond him! Okay, no it wasn’t… Keith knew exactly how Lance kept dragging into these stupid things. The boy was cute, and Keith was weak.

“Well, you do have much more experience riding than me,” Keith pointed out, mirroring Lance by crossing his own arms.

Lance opened his mouth, his hand jerking a little as he tried to think of an argument. He seemed to come to the conclusion there was no argument to this, instead making a drawn out croaking noise. Leaving Lance to try to think, Keith led Red down to the river. She dipped her head to take a drink.

A few moments later, Blue and Lance joined him. Lance had an adorable pout on his face.

“I still won,” he said.

“Okay, Lance,” Keith said, smiling indulgently.

Lance leant against Blue’s neck, scratching her cheek slightly.

“Don’t worry, beautiful girl,” Lance cooed, “I know we won. You did so well.”

Keith rolled his eyes, but felt his heart give a slight thump. He turned to Red.

“Hey,” he said quietly to her, “I know we won really.”

Lance pretended not to hear him.

****

They eventually had to return to reality, back to their home. Keith really didn’t want to—he wanted to stay out here forever. Out here they could just be Lance and Keith, just an alpha and an omega spending some time together and sort of courting in a “we really shouldn’t be doing this” sort of way. Back home, they were Prince Keith and the Stable Master Lance who really shouldn’t have any sort of relationship other than a professional one.

The ride home was slower, giving the horses a chance to cool off. They took the more well-trodden path, so they wouldn’t have to pass over broken branches or rocks. Red shook her head, tossing her mane a little. Keith did feel bad; he hadn’t had the chance to get out on her so much lately. Luckily Lance, the only other person who Red would let anywhere near her, was able to take her out regularly.

“She missed you, you know,” Lance said, nodding at Red, “I think she was only tolerating me.”

“No,” Keith replied, shaking his head, “She likes you. She wouldn’t let you near her if she didn’t.”

“Yeah, I’m sure she wasn’t just getting stir crazy,” Lance said, rolling his eyes, “Makes perfect sense.”

“I’m sorry but just the other day weren’t you declaring yourself the ‘best horseman ever’?” Keith taunted, tilting his head to one side, “Or was that a different loud-mouth stable hand I was thinking of?”

“Please, like you know any of the other stable hands!” Lance scoffed.

“You don’t know that,” Keith replied, shrugging, “You don’t know what I get up too.”

Lance fake-gasped, “You mean you’re seeing other stable hands!”

Keith laughed, kicking Red into a trot to leave a sputtering Lance behind.

Shiro was waiting for them at the crossroads, easy to spot on his huge warhorse, Black. As Keith’s personal bodyguard, Shiro was supposed to accompany Keith anywhere he went. He was nice enough to give Lance and Keith their privacy though.

****

The second they entered the stables, Keith was practically dragged off Red. Apparently there was someone who was desperate to meet Keith and he had to get himself cleaned up and smart as quickly as possible to meet him. Keith tried not to pull a face—he had a feeling he knew what this was about.

“I need to—,” Keith started, gesturing, before letting out a long breath, “Lance, do you mind?”

“Don’t worry, Your Highness,” Lance said, bowing, “I will take care of Red for you.”

Keith didn’t _want_ to leave Lance to do all the work. He liked looking after Red; it was therapeutic. He didn’t really have much of a choice though. Keith nodded, handing Red’s reins over to Lance, before allowing himself to be dragged away.

Keith was never meant to be a prince—hell, it was a bit of a miracle that he was even alive! His mother had left before he could possibly remember her, and his father died when he was still a child. Keith was essentially orphaned, out on the streets, before he had any real chance of looking out for himself. He got incredibly lucky that a rich family—that Shiro’s family—had taken him in and to work in their house before he presented. For that, he was forever grateful, because if there was one thing being worse than being a homeless orphan, it was being a homeless orphan _omega_.

His mother coming back into his life had been even more unexpected—then it turned out she had recently usurped a corrupt ruler and now ruling the kingdom, making Keith a prince. It had been a bit of a crazy day.

In the present, Keith was soon cleaned up, dressed, and ready to head to the throne room to meet whomever it was. He made his way down to the throne room, flanked on either side by guards and servants. The door was opened before him and Keith swept into the room, trying his hardest to look as dignified and elegant as possible.

He was immediately assaulted by the scent of alpha. Keith wrinkled his nose at the obtrusive smell. It was very rude to march into someone’s house and immediately start throwing your scent around, then again Keith wasn’t expecting anything less from his, ah, _guest_. It was going to be a long afternoon.

****

“And so, I raised my mighty sword above my head and brought it down.”

Keith was honestly falling asleep on his throne, trying to not make it too obvious. The young lord telling the story didn’t seem to notice he had completely lost the interest of his audience. How could one person’s story go on for so long?

Keith slid down a little more so he was slumped rather than sat on his throne, Krolia shot him a half-hearted disapproving look, but she was very clearly paying about as much attention as he was. Keith gave a minute shrug; Krolia didn’t obviously react, but the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.

The young lord’s mother seemed to be listening to his story with rapt attention, completely oblivious to the fact that no one else cared. Her overdramatic reactions were better than his story.

“And that!” the young lord declared, almost making Keith’s elbow slip of the arm of the throne as he jumped, “Is why you should choose me as your mate!”

And there it was, the entire reason the young lord even bothered coming here. Keith forced a smile onto his face—he wasn’t as good at the fake political smile as Krolia, but he was working on it.

“Oh, well, I have received a great many offers lately, and I must consider them all carefully before coming to a decision,” Keith said.

The young lord’s mother seemed outraged that her son’s offer hadn’t been immediately accepted, but wisely didn’t say anything. Her son bowed low, throwing Keith what he probably thought was a winning smile.

“Of course, it is an incredibly important decision,” he said, “I trust you will make the right one.”

Keith fought the twitch of his eye at the condescension in the man’s voice. His chances of ever mating with Keith were now less than zero. Luckily, the young lord and his mother were escorted out before he could say anything else stupid, or Keith could punch him, whichever came first.

Krolia let out a long breath, shaking her head.

“If I’d known he’d talk that long, I would have told him you were busy,” she sighed.

“You did your majesty,” Kolivan, Krolia’s bodyguard, said, “They said they’d wait.”

Krolia shook her head, standing up.

“You’re right,” she said, “Is it almost time for dinner?”

He can’t have possibly been talking that…

“Yes, your majesty.”

Oh, apparently he could have been talking that long. Keith’s stomach gave a protesting rumble, since he’d ended up skipping lunch earlier.

“Perfect,” Krolia sighed, “Keith?”

“Yes, I—sorry,” Keith replied, turning to follow her.

“How was your day?” she asked as they made their way into the dining room.

“It was good,” Keith said, “I went out for a ride.”

Krolia shot him a look, before nodding with a smile. She was well aware of his and Lance’s kind-of-sort-of relationship, which is why she did her best to divert the attention of any suitors that tried to become Keith’s mate. Well, that and she had made her distain for the lords and ladies of the lands well known.

Krolia nodded. “That must have been nice. I haven’t just gone for a ride in a long time. Maybe I should do it some time, it would be a nice break. You should come with me.”

“Oh,” Keith replied, “I would like that?”

Krolia smiled at him.

****

The queen from the neighbouring kingdom, Allura, came to visit the next day. She had been essential in the overthrowing of the previous corrupt king, claiming her own kingdom back in the process. She was an absolute godsend to Keith. She understood perfectly what Keith was going through and was very willing to joke about it with him.

“And he just wouldn’t shut up,” Keith grumbled, “I didn’t even know there was that much to talk about!”

Allura snorted softly, shaking her head.

“There is when you’re massively embellishing your story,” she said, “Which is very likely.”

“I figured,” Keith shook his head, “Unless they each killed 500 enemy soldiers each, and about seven of them have claimed that.”

Allura rolled her eyes, “I don’t know what you were expecting really, they just want to impress you.”

“It’s not working,” Keith said flatly.

“I suppose I’m lucky really,” she said, “No alpha’s nipping at my heels.”

“Get out,” Keith said.

Allura laughed.

She was an alpha and therefore didn’t have to deal with alpha’s spending all their time trying to impress her, although she did have a bit of an issue with omega’s trying to impress her. Their attempts were less annoying though.

“Now come on,” Allura said, flicking her hand, “Let’s not talk about all these annoying things! How have you been?”

****

Keith collapsed onto a chair, resting his forehead on the table in front of him. He wasn’t hiding, he’d just snuck down to the kitchens, where people very rarely go, to mope.

…

He might be hiding a little.

“Oh dear.” That was Pidge’s voice. She was the daughter of one of the gardeners. “Hunk! You’re up!”

“Ah,” Hunk responded, “Um, give me a moment.”

Keith let out a long sigh, turning so his cheek rested on the table.

“Here,” Hunk said, placing a cupcake in front of Keith’s face, “I’ve been trying out a new recipe. You need to tell me what you think.”

Keith very slowly sat up as Hunk settled opposite him at the table, staring at the cupcake. Very slowly, he grabbed the pastry and took a few tentative bites. It was good, and Keith told Hunk so, before finishing it off quickly.

“Alright, what’s wrong?” Hunk asked.

Keith leant on his hand, resting his elbow on the table.

“The council is trying to push my mother into forcing me to choose a mate,” Keith muttered, “Apparently she cannot distract them anymore.”

Hunk made a soft concerned noise, Pidge let out a huff.

“Oh no!” Pidge said sarcastically, “If only there was an alpha that really liked you, who you like back that also wanted to mate you.”

“Pidge, you know why we can’t,” Keith sighed.

“Unbelievable,” Pidge said, rolling her eyes, “You say you don’t like being a prince, that you don’t care, yet you make this decision.”

Keith groaned, resting his forehead back on the table, stretching his arms out to bracket his head. Krolia’s claim of the throne was tenuous. Some, especially of the wealthier families, had actually liked the old king. And they, unfortunately, made up most of the council and were just waiting for her to screw up. They loathed Keith.

His parents had been neither mated nor married. Keith had grown up on the streets and was a little _rough_ around the edges. Krolia had been rendered infertile by the war though, so they had no choice but to accept him as heir. There was no way they were ever going to approve of Lance. Keith was trying to wait for Krolia’s reign to become more stable before making a move. Seemed like his time had run out now.

“There’s got to be something we can do?” Hunk asked, reaching out to pat Keith’s hand gently.

“I don’t think so?” Keith said, “Either I mate someone I don’t like, or the kingdom falls apart when it goes to war.”

“Are any of them even slightly tolerable?” Hunk asked.

“There are two of them I might not murder on the wedding night,” Keith said, “But that’s only a very slim chance.”

“Well if you kill them all off there’ll be nothing to worry about?” Shiro suggested.

“Not helping,” Keith replied.

“Murder is, unfortunately,” Allura said, sweeping in, “Probably not the right solution to this. However, I think there is a better one.”

Keith sat up. If literally anyone but Allura had said that, he wouldn’t believe them—especially when she said she couldn’t remember the exact means—but this was Allura. If anyone could possibly have an answer, she would.

****

“I have it,” Allura announced, sweeping into Keith’s chambers.

He looked over at her from his sitting room, mouth full from where he was eating his private dinner—his mother was busy. She was clutching a large, old-looking book in her hands.

“Uh?” he said, before swallowing, “What?”

“I’ve got a solution to your problem,” she said, moving over to sit opposite him, stealing some fruit off his plate.

“Help yourself,” Keith said dryly.

“You owe me,” she declared, placing the book down and flinging it open, “There is an old, noble-omega tradition called ‘The Run.’ It hasn’t been practiced in a long time, but I get the feeling they’d be more than willing to bring it back.”

Keith blinked at her. “What?”

“The Run,” Allura repeated, “Basically, you give the omega a drug to induce a sort of preheat affect and then they start running. If an alpha catches them, they go into full heat and become mates. It’s supposed to be a way to show the true desires of the omega as their body, not their brain, is making the decision which will be the right one for them. That is obviously a load of rubbish. I asked my uncle Coran, and he said it was mostly for omegas to be able to pick their own mates. Especially ones that would not be approved of. They cannot argue with the winner of the run because it is ‘fate.’”

Keith blinked, before a small smile spread over his face. “Allura, you’re brilliant!”

“Well, yes.” She smiled.

“Do you really think they’d agree to it?” Keith asked, frowning.

Allura nodded. “Trust me, they will be desperate to reinstate it.”

****

Allura was right. According to Krolia, the words were barely out of her mouth before the council agreed to it. The date was set, and all that was left was to extensively plan the whole thing.

“Alright,” Allura said, spreading a map out on the table, “Lance will be sent away for the run. No alphas but those running are allowed. This causes us a few issues. I don’t know where he would go, or how we can get there.”

“He will go to his sister’s house,” Hunk said, “Her and her mate are going away for a bit. He said this was the perfect time, as he could watch their house for the week.” He pointed to a small village on the edge of a swamp, to the house right on the outskirts. “They live here.”

“That’s.. a long way away,” Allura said, “I don’t think you can get there in a day.”

“I will find a way,” Keith declared.

“Okay, no,” Shiro said, “You are not running yourself to collapse. I have a better way. If you can get here.” He pointed to a crossroads, about ten miles away from the palace, close to the nearby village. “I’ll wait there with Black for you to take the rest of the way. I’ll have to leave too, even though I have a mate, so it shouldn’t be suspicious that she’s not there. I’ll take Adam on a romantic getaway.”

“To the next village over?” Keith asked, quirking his eyebrow.

“I didn’t say it would be a good one,” Shiro replied blithely.

“Alright,” Hunk said, “Now how will you get there?”

“You will get a ten-minute head start,” Allura explained, “But you won’t be able to rely on that to get away from the alphas.”

“We’ll be setting off near the forest,” Keith said, “I can get to the river here in under ten minutes.”

Allura let out a long hum, tapping her chin slightly. She tilted her head from side to side.

“Okay,” she said, nodding, “I think we can make it work. What we need next is a diversion. I’ll wait here with my horse and enough of Keith’s belongings to disguise my scent. They should only be able to smell Keith and the scent of alpha, so they should follow me as I go this way.” She traced away from the palace and river.

Shiro nodded. “If you follow the river we can leave some sort of marker for you, then head directly away from the palace. You should reach the crossroads. It will probably take longer but hopefully you will lose them and not get lost.”

Keith nodded. “Then I just need to remember the way to the village.”

“That’s not too difficult,” Hunk said, tracing the rote with his finger carefully, “You’ll be approaching from the swamp side. The path can be a little tricky at times, but you should be able to see and follow it reasonably well.”

“We’ll leave some clothes for you at the marker at the river,” Pidge said, “And a towel. You haven’t seen the ceremonial garb, have you?”

Keith pulled a face.

Pidge snorted. “It’s worse than that.”

“Great,” Keith sighed, “Can’t wait.”

At the sound of a throat clearing, everyone turned. There, stood in the doorway, was Krolia, regarding them with interest. Everyone immediately dipped into a bow, probably wondering how much she had heard.

“I wish to speak to my son,” Krolia said.

Another bow and everyone scrambled out of the room, shooting Keith a look. When the door closed behind Allura, Keith took a deep breath, turning to look at her. She took a step into the room, eyes flicking around as she slowly walked around it. It took a long time for her to say anything, a thoughtful look settled on her face.

“Do you know why I never mated your father?” she asked.

That was… not what Keith was expecting.

“No?”

She smiled gently. “I didn’t want to tie him down to me. It was a war. I didn’t know if I would ever be back. I didn’t know if I would even survive. I honestly didn’t think I would. I didn’t want to saddle him with that burden. Hindsight is… something, isn’t it?”

Keith blinked, tilting his head to one side and wondering where this was going.

“I regret that, every single day, especially how it has impacted you. Keith, even if I was able to have more children, I would still want you to be my heir. No matter what Keith, I loved your father. I love _you_. I just want you to be happy.”

Keith now knew what she was getting at. What she truly meant by that.

“But this way,” he said, “they can accept it too.”

She let out a long breath, looking down at the map where they’d drawn out the route Keith needed to memorise.

“There is a patch of wild garlic here,” Krolia said, “You should be able to smell it out. It should disguise your scent.”

Keith’s shoulders dropped and he let out a long breath. “Thank you, mother.”

****

Pidge was right, the ceremonial garb was horrifying and Keith was none too pleased with it. The sheer fabric wrapped around him in a complex pattern, but was almost completely see through, leaving little to the imagination. Keith pointedly ignored the lewd looks the alphas were giving him—there were a few more of them than Keith expected, but not so many he couldn’t deal with them.

They’d set up a temporary ceremonial area, the last one for The Run having been destroyed a long time ago. Keith stepped up to it, looking suspiciously at the liquid in the new ceremonial bowl. It did not look appealing, though Keith didn’t have a choice but to drink it.

The one presiding over the ceremony was speaking, but Keith wasn’t listening. He was going through the plan over and over in his head, the directions, everything he needed to remember.

“Now, drink and the run will begin.”

Holding his breath, Keith downed the liquid as quickly as possible. He was right, it tasted foul. It took a few moments for the drink to take affect and, even then, the symptoms were slow to develop. First a dull heat spread through him, then his scent steadily grew stronger, followed by a slight queasiness settling in his stomach. It was just like preheat, the strong scent of the alpha’s now making him wince, his mind was still completely clear though. Perfect.

Keith was then paraded right past the alphas, so they could catch his scent and know what to follow.

“Allow your instincts to guide you!”

With that, Keith ran.

He headed straight for the forest, moving as quickly as he could. This was the part where he just had to run, nothing else, just get to the river as fast as possible. He sprang over roots, ducked under branches and avoided bushes. He reached the patch of wild garlic his mother had pointed out pretty quickly, following his nose as she suggested. He diverted a little off the path to rip some up, crushing it in his hands. While running, he rubbed it over every bit of exposed skin he could, paying special attention to his scent glands. It stank, but that was the point.

The forest ended, the river and Allura coming into view. Keith let out a long breath, stumbling slightly on the uneven ground. Allura raised her hand to wave, her horse tossed his head. He skidded down the bank, dropping into the water. Okay, it was a little cold.

“You stink,” Allura commented, tossing him a compass, “We thought you might need that.”

“Thanks,” Keith replied, starting to follow the river down.

Allura snorted, turning her stallion around and kicking him into action. She was wearing one of Keith’s cloaks, his blanket strapped to the horse’s rump. It had worked; her own scent had completely been eclipsed by Keith, only leaving the slight scent of alpha.

****

It took a while for him to reach the marker by the river, and by that point he was shivering. The ceremonial garb was sticking to him like a second skin, legs aching from having to move through the cold water. He’d fallen due to the loose pebbles far too many times, soaking him completely. The marker came as an instant relief.

Hauling himself out of the water, Keith wandered over to the marker and found the supplies placed underneath some rocks near it. Quickly drying off as best he could, Keith pulled on the warm boots and thick cloak. Oh, that was nice. Checking the compass, Keith headed off towards where he hoped the crossroads was.

The run had started at noon. Hopefully he could reach Lance before nightfall. The sky was getting darker, but not because the sun was starting to set. Heavy clouds were starting to collect in the sky, threatening rain. Keith frowned deeply; that was really the last thing he needed.

As he rounded a bend, he spotted a huge black horse with Shiro stood beside her. He’d reached the crossroads! Keith broke out into a half-jog, unable to help the relieved smile from spreading over his face.

Shiro laughed in disbelief. “This is actually working out?”

Keith nodded, taking Black’s reins from him. “Well, so far,” he said, pulling himself into the saddle.

“Pretty sure the hardest part is over,” Shiro said, smiling.

“Don’t say that,” Keith replied, “Something is going to go wrong. How is the romantic getaway?”

“Very nice, thank you very much,” Shiro said, “Now get your ass moving and get your own romantic getaway.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Keith said, rolling his eyes.

Shiro smiled again, waving him off as Keith kicked Black into action.

****

Black was slower and less responsive than Red, she was an incredible war horse though, granddaughter of one of the greatest, bravest horses in history. She pushed forward, sudden sounds and movement having no effect on her but a twitch of an ear. Keith simply held on, guiding her in the right direction.

The sky darkened even more, and, all too soon, rain began hammering down on them. Black huffed slightly but kept going. Keith pulled up the hood of his cloak, incredibly grateful Pidge had accounted for poor weather.

The swamp came into view just as the sky got even darker and the rain still hadn’t let up. Now night must be falling.

“Come on, Black, not far now,” Keith urged.

Guiding her through the swamp was difficult. He could see the path, mostly, but as it kept getting darker and darker and the rain just kept getting heavier, it was steadily becoming more and more difficult.

Eventually, Black just stopped. She snorted and tossed her head, stamping her hoof. There was a wooden plank bridge, a very narrow one Black clearly didn’t really want to go over. Dismounting, Keith grabbed her reins and took a step onto the bridge, walking backwards.

“Come on, girl,” he said, “It’s okay, you can do it.”

He gave her a slight tug, she hesitated for a moment, before taking a step forwards. Keith kept stepping slowly backwards, guiding Black across the narrow bridge. Keith had to be incredibly careful not to slip on the slick wood, breathing out a sigh of relief as his feet hit solid ground. He carefully guided Black the rest of the way across, shuffling to the side a bit to give her room.

“Good gir—” he started.

Keith took one step too far, slipping off the solid ground and straight into the swamp. He sank right up to his waist in the mud, unintentionally yelping and releasing Black’s reins. Luckily, it wasn’t too deep, so his feet hit hard ground just as it reached above his belly button. Great, this was just fantastic.

Black trotted forwards, keeping her feet on solid ground and reaching her head towards him. She nibbled lightly on his cape, before tugging. Letting out a huff, Keith grabbed her reins and she slowly backed up to pull him out.

Keith groaned, looking down at the filth clinging to his legs and waist.

“Shiro’s going to be so mad,” he grumbled, standing up on shaking legs, “Oh well, I’m sure I owe him for something.”

He clambered onto her back again, wincing at the feeling of mud scraping against the saddle. He kicked her back into action, following along the path.

The rain was still hammering down and it had gotten almost completely dark now. Keith was really having trouble seeing where the path was, but Black seemed to be soldiering on regardless, cutting her way through the night. What felt like an eternity later, Keith saw a light in the distance. He kicked Black into a canter as they headed towards the lantern.

A house came into view—a small cottage perched on the edge of the swamp, a lantern hanging by its back door. Was this it? Keith couldn’t really see very well, or smell very well from this distance. Black seemed to sense their journey was close to ending though, picking up her pace even more.

As they grew even closer, Keith got a whiff of a scent. Alpha, warmth, home, _Lance_.

****

Keith knew he looked like a wreck. He was soaking wet, filthy, his hair had fallen out of its braid and was currently a tangled mess, and he probably looked as exhausted as he felt. All that didn’t matter though, because he was here, on Lance’s doorstep. Black was stood beside him, shaking slightly to try and get the water off her. It was useless; she was soaked through and the rain was still falling.

Reaching out, Keith knocked on the door, letting out a long breath. This would all be worth it.

The door opened and there… _right there_.

Keith let out a long breath. “ _Lance_.”

“Keith?!” Lance exclaimed, jaw dropping, “What are—oh my—come on, get inside! You’re soaked!”

“That’s usually what happens when you’re out in the rain,” Keith pointed out, shivering.

As he stepped inside, Lance reached out to grab Black’s reins.

“Keep going down the hallway,” Lance said, stepping out, “The fire is lit.”

Lance led Black away, vanishing into the darkness and rain. Letting out a long breath, Keith continued back through the house. At the end of the corridor, he opened the door to what was no doubt the living room. A fire was roaring at the opposite end of the room, and Keith didn’t bother looking any further than that, rushing over to collapse beside it. He shed his cloak and boots, shuffling closer to the flames to try and get some feeling back in his fingers and toes. The scent that filled the house was strong, an alpha that Keith didn’t know. It was close enough to Lance’s that Keith could safely assume it was his sister’s, and there was plenty of Lance’s scent around too.

Keith was just starting to warm up, when Lance walked into the room, dropping to sit beside him.

“I’ve put some water on to heat up,” Lance said, “I’m assuming you want to clean off?”

Keith nodded, letting out a long breath.

“What are you doing here, Keith?” Lance asked with a frown, his scent shifting to concerned, “I thought you were supposed to be running.”

Lance was very clearly trying to not look down at Keith, at the damp, flimsy fabric that was hiding nothing as it clung to him.

“I am running,” Keith said, smiling. He shifted, crawling towards Lance to cup his face. “It brought me here.”

“What?” Lance asked, blinking in confusion.

“The run is just an excuse for an omega to be able to pick their own mate, without argument from anyone. There’s a long made up story on how it’s supposed to be the best way for an omega to choose a mate, but that doesn’t matter. I have been running, Lance, and it looks like you caught me,” Keith said quietly.

He reached out to take Lance’s hand, curling his own around the sash holding his clothes together. It was filthy and wet, like everything to do with Keith right now; he was a complete mess. Lance was staring at him though, with such an awed look on his face, Keith couldn’t help but feel his cheeks heat up.

“You want me to be your mate?” Lance asked quietly.

“I didn’t construct an elaborate plan and travel all the way here to not want to be your mate,” Keith said, “That was kind of the point!”

“Sorry,” Lance murmured, “I just can’t believe it.”

Keith let out a huff of breath, trying to make his scent as comforting as possible. He’d never been good at controlling his scent though. Leaning forwards, Keith very gently pressed their lips together.

“Well,” Keith said, brushing their lips together, “Believe it, because it’s true.”

Lance made a slightly strangled sound, before hauling Keith back in to kiss him deeply. Making a surprised happy noise, Keith shuffled even closer.

He felt his body starting to heat up, the drug beginning to force him past preheat. Lance pulled away suddenly, causing Keith to whine and the heat that was building inside him to scream in protest.

“Come on,” Lance said, standing up and holding out his hand, “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

Keith nodded, reaching out to take Lance’s hand.

“You need to take this off,” Keith explained, tugging at his sash, “It’s traditional.”

“There’s no one else here,” Lance pointed out, “I don’t think tradition is necessary.”

“Come on,” Keith whined playfully, “You don’t want to take my clothes off?”

“Well,” Lance said, “If you put it like that.”

Reaching out, Lance pulled the sash, untying the robe. Now, if the robe was dry, it would have fallen open and to the ground, revealing Keith’s naked body. It was soaking wet though, so the material was stuck to his skin and completely transparent, ruining the effect. Lance didn’t seem to mind all that much though, reaching up to peel the material off Keith. It fell to the ground with a wet slap instead of a delicate flutter.

“Come on,” Lance said, squeezing Keith’s hands slightly.

He led Keith back into the corridor and through another door to reveal a bathroom. The floor was stone and cold, a fire with a huge cauldron over it in the corner. A large bath was stood in the centre, half filled with water.

“Let’s get you cleaned up,” Lance said softly.

****

They cleaned the mud off Keith as quickly as they could, Keith not wanting to stand out in the cold any longer than he already had. He did manage to convince Lance to get in the bath with him, which was nice. The drug-induced preheat was not forgotten, just pushed to the back of his mind as Lance held him close.

As the time dragged on, the feeling became harder to ignore. He was starting to enter heat.

“Your scent has gotten stronger,” Lance noted quietly.

“Induced heat,” Keith replied, “Had to take it before running.”

“Ah,” Lance replied, “Makes sense.”

“So?” Keith said, turning around in Lance’s arms to face him.

Lance smiled, resting his hand between Keith’s shoulder blades. He pressed their lips together, pulling Keith closer. Keith straddled Lance’s waist, draping his arms around Lance’s shoulder and pressing them together as close as possible.

“Ronnie is going to kill me,” Lance growled, “Come on, up and out.”

Keith nodded eagerly, clambering out of the bath as quickly as he could without falling. Lance smiled at him, before climbing out to stand beside him.

****

Dried off and back in the living room, Keith felt like he was in the fire instead of next to it. Lance had gathered some blankets and placed them in front of the fire, though Keith’s instincts hadn’t really kicked in so he didn’t want to build a nest. He appreciated the gesture all the same.

Lance laid over him, pinning Keith to the ground with his warm body. Their mingled scent hung thick in the air, as Keith draped his legs around Lance’s waist. He had definitely shifted from induced-preheat to induced-heat, slick starting to drip out of him. It wasn’t a proper heat, Keith could tell, his mind was far too clear. The back of his neck—the scent gland there—was throbbing though. He _needed_ Lance’s bite.

“Lance,” Keith hissed, “Come on, I need you to mate me!”

“Alright,” Lance soothed, “Easy, okay, relax.”

“Hurts,” Keith grumbled, tilting his head back.

“Alright, alright,” Lance acquiesced, pressing his lips to the underside of Keith’s jaw.

Lance’s hand dipped down, tracing lightly through the slick that had gathered on Keith’s inner thighs. Keith let out a long breath, letting his legs fall open further as Lance’s fingers trailed up. They traced his rim lightly, before one sunk in easily.

“Wow,” Lance said quietly.

“Shut up,” Keith growled back.

Lance smiled, leaning up to peck Keith’s lips lightly. “Sorry, I won’t tease.”

Without any fanfare, Lance sunk a second finger inside. There was a little bit of resistance, but not much, given how incredibly turned on Keith was. Keith’s toes curled as Lance twisted and spread his fingers. In almost no time at all, Lance was pushing in a third.

“You gunna knot me?” Keith asked, wriggling a little in place.

Lance hummed, shifting to bite Keith’s earlobe. A fourth finger slipped in alongside the other three. That would be a ‘yes’ then.

Soon enough, Keith was panting and writhing. A fine sheen of sweat had spread across his skin. Maybe doing this in front of the fire was not the best idea. He had no desire to move away though.

“Closer,” Keith hissed, “Closer, Lance.”

Lance hushed softly, smoothing his hand up and down Keith’s thigh. Keith turned his head slightly, knocking it against Lance’s forehead. Their eyes locked and Keith let out an unintentional sharp gasp. Lance’s eyes were blown wide, a slight golden colour invading the blue. His scent was incredibly powerful now, causing Keith to go limp and make a high-pitched whine.

“Roll over,” Lance said, voice having gone deeper with rut.

Keith shuddered and whimpered as Lance moved away, grasping at his biceps blindly.

“Roll over,” Lance said again, “If you want me to bite you. Face to face later.”

Keith released Lance’s arms, but it was much more difficult than he thought it would be. He craved contact, _more contact_. Keith rolled over shakily, pushing himself onto unsteady knees. He didn’t bother trying to use his arms, they were a lost cause long ago.

Lance draped himself along Keith’s back, bringing back his warmth. He carefully nosed Keith’s hair away from the back of his neck, causing it to all fall over one shoulder. The blunt head of Lance’s cock caught on Keith’s rim, breaching teasingly before slipping away.

“Relax,” Lance hissed, before pushing in.

Keith unintentionally jolted, jerking forwards and away from Lance. Lance’s warm hand rubbed up and down Keith’s spine, before sliding up to squeeze his shoulder. Keith let out a long breath, shaking his head slightly.

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

“’S okay,” Lance whispered back, “Come back?”

Keith nodded, sliding back to press against Lance, somehow finding the strength to push up and lean against Lance’s chest.

“Hello,” Lance said lightly.

Keith rolled his eyes, but couldn’t keep the small smile from spreading across his face. Lance began pressing kisses along his jaw and neck, paying special attention to his scent glands. Keith sighed and tilted his head to one side.

Lance very slowly lowered them down, so Keith was back on his front with his knees supporting him. Lance was draped over his back, one hand curled around Keith’s.

“Ready this time?” Lance asked quietly.

Keith nodded, taking a deep breath. This time he didn’t jerk away when Lance pushed in, allowing him to sink to the hilt in one, long, slow movement. Breathing through his nose, Keith forced himself to relax at the unfamiliar stretch. It was surprisingly easy; the fake-heat had left him pliant.

“Good?” Lance asked, breath tickling across the back of Keith’s neck.

Not trusting his voice to not crack horribly, Keith nodded. Lance began to thrust then, and nothing mattered anymore.

Keith didn’t know what to call the noises he was making, but he was unbelievably glad there were no other people nearby. Lance was giving little punched-out growls right in Keith’s ear, arms tight and possessive around him. Keith didn’t bother trying to think anymore, just letting himself get lost in the feeling.

Keith’s orgasm hit him unexpectedly; he had ended up too preoccupied with the build-up. All it took was one well-aimed thrust from Lance and he came, hard. He was pretty sure he blacked out for a moment, only to come back around to another small orgasm as Lance’s knot expanded inside him.

Lance jerked his head up, sinking his teeth into the back of Keith’s neck, deep into the gland located there, and Keith went limp, pleasure-pain burning through him, along with another feeling he couldn’t quite pinpoint.

His knot still buried in Keith’s ass, Lance slowly moved them so they were spooning and pressed his forehead to the base of Keith’s skull, humming and curling his arms around Keith’s chest.

****

The induced-heat didn’t last the entire night, but that was fine. It meant they got to slip in one not-in-heat round before drifting off, tangled in the blankets in front of the fire.

Keith woke up to a heavy knock on the door, instinctually shifting closer to Lance’s chest. Lance grunted, shifting and sitting up slightly.

“Was that?” Lance started.

Another knock on the door sounded, Lance sat up completely.

“Shiro?” Lance said, frowning a little, “Shiro and some others are at the door.”

Keith blinked. He was always so surprised by Lance’s sense of smell. But… people at the door. Keith sighed.

“They’ll be here for me. Well, for _us_ now,” Keith said, pressing his face into Lance’s chest.

“Ah,” Lance said, “Yes, that.”

“Sorry,” Keith replied.

Lance placed a kiss on Keith’s forehead, before he started to pull away.

“Wait,” Keith said, “I’ll get that. They’re more looking for me.”

Keith got up very slowly, wincing at the pain shooting through his hips and back. Worth it.

Bundling himself into a blanket, Keith limped to the door, ignoring Lance’s smug expression. He carefully opened the door, hiding most of his body behind it before peeking out. As Lance said, Shiro was stood on the doorstep, some of the other guards behind him.

“I brought clothes for the both of you and there’s a carriage waiting to take you to the palace,” Shiro said in lieu of a greeting, “Please don’t open this door again until you’re both dressed. Also, I’ve assembled a cleaning crew, so tell Lance he doesn’t need to worry about Veronica. We’ll also bring Blue with us.”

Keith made grabby hands, unconcerned with appearances at the moment, and took the clothes from Shiro. Keith kicked the door shut as he stepped back inside, returning to Lance who was sat up comfortably in his makeshift nest.

“Get dressed,” Keith said, dumping the clothes on the sofa, “There’s a carriage to take us back.”

“Oh,” Lance said, then looked around the living room.

It really was a mess.

“Shiro’s brought a cleaning crew and we’ll take Blue with us,” Keith explained as he sorted through the clothes.

He tossed the less elaborate and slightly larger clothes to Lance; he had a feeling they would be the right size and Keith decided not to question how.

“He said not to worry about Veronica,” Keith continued, as he began to pull on his clothes.

“Alright,” Lance accepted quietly, putting his own clothes on.

Keith stared at him—at the slight frown on his face. After a moment’s hesitation, he walked over, resting his head on Lance’s shoulder and making the alpha freeze.

“Hey,” Keith asked quietly, “Are you alright?”

Lance sighed, shifting to wrap Keith in a hug.

“Sorry,” Lance murmured, “It just hit me what happened. I may have forgotten you were a prince for a minute there.”

Keith snorted, pressing his nose into the crook of Lance’s neck, “Is that a problem?”

“No,” Lance replied softly, “Just might take some getting used to.”

“It’s okay,” Keith said, pulling back and resting his hands on Lance’s shoulders, “I can help you through.”

Lance made a doubtful sound, making Keith punch him playfully in the shoulder. Lance laughed, bending down to peck Keith on the lips.

“Come on,” Lance said, “I’m sure they’re getting impatient.”

Keith hummed, “We’re princes. They can wait.”

Lance laughed at that, and gave Keith’s ass a quick squeeze before letting him go.

****

The council wasn’t too happy with Lance, but as he was chosen during The Run, there was very little they could do in response. In fact, there was nothing they could do but accept him. There would be no plunging the kingdom back into chaos.

Keith didn’t care what they thought though. All he knew was that both he and Lance were happy. And, in the end, that was what mattered most.

**Author's Note:**

> This is an idea that has been bouncing around my head for a while. If you've been following any of my other works you'll know I've been writing a series on A/B/O tropes and I couldn't think of how to put this one in that AU...so I came up with a different AU  
> So, yeah...
> 
> Comments and kudos are appreciated. I hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading.


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